“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Eva said. She laid a gloved hand on Shalise’s shoulder and gave a light squeeze. “We’re already on the Brakket track. Arachne, Juliana, and I can handle most anything. Keep improving those runic gloves and you’ll be fine until you can use the thaumaturgical lightning.”
“Yeah,” Shalise said softly as they started heading towards the front counter.
Juliana set her own armful of books down and waited.
The last time they faced the owner of Toomey’s Tomes, he had no kind words to say and even less patience. He called me a brat. She had almost thought about having Irene pick up a second copy of the books just to avoid him. It wasn’t until Eva had pointed out that he was dead that she decided to go.
Yet the man at the counter just sighed and put down his book. He rung up their purchases without a word. Not even a ‘did you find everything alright.’
His sunken eyes didn’t linger on the group. The moment Shalise finished paying, he picked up his book and set to reading.
Even still, Juliana couldn’t wait to get out of the building. Maybe if they had proper lighting rather than the eerie faux candlelight and a working thermostat.
After finishing their book shopping, without incident, they decided on lunch. Lunch at the Gooble Gobble Gourmet Grub kiosk. Shalise in particular seemed more than excited to try the food. She bounced heel to heel as they waited for the toque blanche wearing chef to hand them their meals.
How the man could see out from under his overly bushy eyebrows, Juliana couldn’t understand. Not unless he had some alternate means of seeing.
Luckily, it didn’t affect the quality of their food. The grub came out on three plates and smelled delicious. After they took a seat at one of the plaza tables, Shalise dug right in and Juliana was quick to follow.
It had a slight acidic-sweet goo for insides; easily slurped down with a straw. Of course, the straw missed all the crunchy exterior. That was fine to eat plain, but not as good as eating it together.
Eva didn’t touch her plate. She backed off, mumbling something about “not eating oversized maggots.”
“Oh well,” Juliana said as she pulled the black-haired girl’s plate in front of her. “More for me.”
“So, what is next?” Shalise asked as Juliana finished her lunch.
“I need new potion supplies,” Eva said.
“You don’t even go to that class.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t need to maintain my personal stock of potions.”
“Are you going to be going to skip all this year too?”
“Probably,” Eva said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’m not going to be allowed to touch the chemicals again, no point in going to watch.”
Shalise pouted, though it didn’t look too serious. “What if we make something useful that you don’t know about?”
“I’ve had Arachne read the book. Unless you’re making things not in the book?”
“Not so far,” Juliana said. “But alchemy is required. How are you graduating?”
“Only two years of alchemy is required. Further classes are all elective. I’ve claimed that I’m getting special tutoring due to my,” she tapped a gloved hand against her blindfold, “issues. After Zoe Baxter discussed it with the dean, they agreed that was acceptable. Alchemy shouldn’t even be on my class schedule this year.”
“Who is tutoring you?”
Eva put on a small grin and merely shrugged.
Nobody then. Not that it was her business, but Juliana couldn’t help but feel that was a mistake. There were so many useful potions. So many that she was considering buying a small satchel and keeping a few healing, restorative, and general utility potions on hand at all times. Eva had one of those back on the flight over.
Juliana wasn’t sure the girl actually carried it on her anymore. Maybe she could ask Eva if she could have it.
It would make a great addition to her multiple foci and armor. Maybe add in a few more hostile potions as well. Throwing a potion of air thickening would, at the very least, slow down a pursuer. They’d have to almost literally swim through the affected area until it wore off.
She would need a separate satchel for the more caustic potions. Accidentally throwing a titan potion or drinking a poison potion would not end well for Juliana.
“I could also use some new clothes,” Eva said. “My, ah, growth spurt has turned perfectly fine clothes into scrap cloth.” She gave a slight knock against her leg as if to emphasize her meaning.
Not that either of the girls would fail to understand. Shalise had been disturbed, to say the least, when Eva first stripped down in their dorm. The poor girl might have fainted if Eva hadn’t warned her beforehand.
It went against everything she knew about biology, as small as that might be, but she couldn’t deny Eva’s new legs were cool. Awesome, in fact. Still, Juliana had no plans nor the slightest desire to chop off her own limbs.
She wasn’t stupid.
Yet, if the unthinkable did happen, Juliana knew where she wanted to get new limbs from. Even if she had to hide them from regular people for the rest of her life, they appeared far better than any prosthetic she knew about.
“New clothes would be nice. My old uniform won’t last me the whole year,” Shalise said with a pat at her chest. “It was getting tight at the end of last semester.”
“Yeah,” Juliana said with a pat at her own chest. “I think I could use a new uniform too,” she lied.
Juliana let out a small sigh. She hadn’t grown at all in the last year. Both of her roommates were bigger than her in every way that mattered. She had to look up to face both of them, Eva especially with her new legs.
It just wasn’t fair. Her mother was tall, though not very busty. Her father had some height to him, though not too much. Yet Juliana was still the smallest and shortest in her class. It had been that way ever since she was young.
Just once, she wanted to be taller than someone her own age. Or even someone a few years younger than herself. All of the first year students she’d seen wandering around Brakket were at least her height.
Juliana sighed once more as she followed her friends past the dancing uniforms and into the clothing store.
Extra 005
A gloved hand shot up in front of Irene.
“Yes, Miss Eva. I’m well aware you think you’re a chaos mage. You’re not.”
There were a few chuckles around the classroom as Eva slowly lowered her hand.
Irene just rolled her eyes.
The students quieted as Professor Baxter began speaking again. “The fact that you are unable to use any water magic is proof enough that you are a pyrokinetic. However, you do make for an excellent example.
“Miss Eva has demonstrated the ability to blink as well as the ability to generate large, area covering clouds of darkness. Both of which are considered chaos spells, though blinking does incorporate some order magic. Yet, Miss Eva is a mere first year student. How is she using magic that isn’t taught until the later years of your schooling?”
Professor Baxter’s eyes drifted over the classroom, almost as if she expected someone to respond.
Irene did not raise her hand. She was mostly sure that it was just a rhetorical question.
Professor Baxter proved her correct after a brief moment of watchful silence.
“The same way that Miss Rivas can use such advanced earth magics. Practice.
“Neither order nor chaos will come as easily or as naturally as your element. You’ll struggle with them harder than you would with your satellite elements. That doesn’t mean you can’t use order and chaos at all. Like most things in life, practice and constant use will make using chaos magic easier.
“Miss Eva had a mentor before school started. That mentor taught her to blink at a young age. Very irresponsible, if you ask me. Nevertheless, she learned it. She practiced it and she can do it on command now. How long did it take you to get to the point where you are now?”